One of Africa’s female music divas, Temilade Openiyi, known on stage as Tems, has encouraged women in all spheres of life to support one another at all times.
She said it was important for women to keep pressing on regardless of what they were going through, stressing that when the road gets tough, they should remember that they are “not alone.”
Tems made the remarks when she picked up the ‘Breakthrough’ award at the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards in Los Angeles this week.
“No matter what you’re going through, you should know you are not alone. Even when you’re sad, or angry, there is someone angry too…so uplift everyone around you. We don’t have anybody else but ourselves, it’s the women that got the women,” she said while thanking her family, fans, team, and everyone who supports her career.
The ceremony, which took place at the YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles, California, saw other top female acts in the industry turn up in their numbers.
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The Billboard Women in Music Awards, hosted annually, recognise outstanding women who have made valuable contributions to the business and continue to inspire generations. Tems is the first Nigerian artist to be honoured at the event.
Apart from her gorgeous appearance on stage and the red carpet, she performed her single Not An Angel, released in December last year.
The exciting singer continues to push her brand and Afrobeats globally. By January this year, she had attained over two billion streams on Spotify, making her the most streamed female African artiste on the platform. Data on the platform again indicates she has at least 15.4 million listeners monthly.
In an interview last year, Tems said she was not doing music to impress but rather wanted to stay original and remain “true” to herself.
Tems rose to fame after she was featured on Wizkid’s 2020 single, Essence, which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, following the release of the remix version with Justin Bieber.
Her single, Me & U, reached No. 34 on the UK singles chart in October 2023 and also featured on former US President Obama’s 2023 playlist.
The awardees at the Billboard Women in Music Awards included Karol G (Woman of the Year), Charli XCX (Powerhouse), Maren Morris (Visionary), NewJeans (Group of the Year), Victoria Monét (Rising Star), and PinkPantheress (Producer of the Year).